Rove: Brokered Convention Unlikely; Romney Should Be Nominee

Former presidential adviser Karl Rove says the chances of a contested Republican National Convention, where none of the 2012 GOP hopefuls will have the 1,144 delegates necessary to garner the nomination, are highly unlikely and the odds of a brokered convention this summer in Tampa are even slimmer. Rove also told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto if things don’t dramatically change course, Mitt Romney will be the nominee.

“A brokered convention is a convention in which everyone arrives at Tampa, where the convention will be held, and, in essence, the power leaders of the party — the establishment of the party, whoever that is — says none of the current candidates is good enough, let’s substitute someone new, bring someone new onto the field,” Rove said. “I think that is not likely to happen at all.

“A contested convention is where one no one arrives in Tampa with 1,144 delegates, the majority, and so we go for a ballot or two, or it takes some negotiations in the days before and starting at the convention to arrive at a majority,” he said. “There is a chance of that, but I think that is also unlikely — not as improbable as a brokered convention — but I think it is unlikely because once someone begins to win or lose, they keep winning or losing.”

Rove said if the nominees keep winning at their current levels in the primaries, which are at their halfway point, Romney will be the nominee.

“Romney has won 54 percent of the delegates thus far, and Rick Santorum has 26 percent of delegates, and Newt Gingrich has won 14 percent of the delegates,” Rove said. “Gingrich won South Carolina but since then has begun to run slower, and slower, and slower. And then in Mississippi and Alabama — even after his home state of Georgia voted — he came in second in both of these Southern states that originally he had been anticipated to win.

“So after a while, people tend to either start to win and keep winning or they start to lose and keep losing — and I think we are at that point for both Gingrich and Paul,” he continued. “We do not know what will happen between Mitt Romney and Santorum and I don`t suspect we will have a better sense until some time in April.”